Expert counsel

Governing bodies are vital to the effective management of a school, yet are not always used by proprietorial schools. Jake Anders, Matthew Adshead and Bill Brown advocate their introduction to those schools that lack them

Proprietorship of an independent school is a serious business. Getting it wrong has important, usually litigious, implications. It requires good governance compliance with employment, business, financial and educational criteria in all its facets: a daunting task for any proprietor or company not prepared to seek best advice in the areas affecting education, safeguarding children, and health and safety.

Across the country, there are now more than 1,000 (Edubase, Sept 2009) so-called proprietorial schools, with the number continuing to grow. There has been a gradual shift in the ownership. Traditionally, the majority were owned by teachers or families, some of whom go back two or three generations. During the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the commercial sector entering the independent schools market.

Additionally, the proprietorial special education market is becoming increasingly attractive. There are a number of companies that own several very small schools (usually between three and ten on roll), combining residential care with education. Ownership in excess of twenty establishments is commonplace for some proprietors.

Only a minority of proprietorial schools have the headteacher in membership of the ISC and, where this happens, the head is a member of either the Independent Schools Association or the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools. The latter includes membership of the National Association of Head Teachers.

On the rise
There has been a decrease in the number of proprietor-heads. Increasingly, during the past seven years, more heads are instead being employed by proprietors.

Due to the differing ways in which proprietorial schools are structured compared to, for example, charitable trust schools, there is rarely a board of governors with formal powers. Those who own proprietorial schools are often reluctant to consider having a governing body. The proprietor of a school, while having the responsibility and duty to ensure sound governance, would find unacceptable a third party committing the business, especially where there are financial implications, to a particular line of action.

However, there are many benefits to governing bodies which, without making an alternative provision, proprietorial schools miss out on. Firstly, governing bodies can be a pool of expertise for schools. They also act as a useful check on the running of the school by people who are not involved day-to-day and so provide a fresh perspective. In addition to this, the presence of a governing body provides parents with a point of reference when it comes to governance. In a proprietorial school, if it is the head/proprietor, then it is simply their decision that counts on important areas of governance.

This may not be as appealing to the parent stakeholders (especially when a school changes ownership, as they have no say in that matter). Also, stakeholders also realise that a governing body is in place to ensure that academic standards, school vision and ethos are maintained, again benefiting the stakeholders. This is very reassuring for parents.

Discreet advice
A small but growing number of proprietorial schools have established advisory boards that exist to perform many of the same functions as governing bodies, but with only the power to advise and recommend. They are relatively small bodies of usually between five and ten members.

They leave the proprietor with ultimate decision-making powers and responsibility. This is beneficial for proprietor and stakeholders alike. Using the term “advisory board”, rather than opting for the more familiar “governing body”, helps with the separation in perception between these two bodies: most people would perceive a governing body to be a decision-making body even in this kind of setting, so a different term eliminates confusion.

A very small number of proprietorial schools have a governing body, but in such cases the membership is from the proprietors and the officers of the company, thus ensuring that the authority and the decision-making powers of the proprietor are left intact.

Since the introduction of the Education Act of 2002 and the Section 162A regulations that were brought in with it, Ofsted and ISI inspection regimes include criteria to ensure that schools have appropriate provision for ensuring good governance of the school; these are now particularly prevalent in both the Section 162A and the new ISI Inspection Framework, as modified at the start of this year. In particular, proprietors are required to provide effective oversight of the school, have a good insight into the working of the school and be effective in discharging responsibilities for child protection, welfare, health and safety (ISI Inspection Framework, Jan 2010).

Advisory boards can form a key part of the arrangements to demonstrate compliance with such requirements, particularly if they have been structured to terms of reference that speak directly to the core educational aims of the school and the relevant DCSF, Ofsted and ISI guidance. The ISI documents are first-rate in providing a benchmark for independent schools to achieve.

To this end, ensuring that the terms of reference for the advisory board make reference to particular aims of the school and the criteria against which they will be inspected.

Notable here would be to use the seven DCSF requirements of schools regarding:
• the quality of education provided;
• the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils;
• the welfare, health and safety of pupils;
• the suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors;
• the premises and accommodation;
• the provision of information; and
• the manner in which complaints are handled.

In addition to this, allowing members of the advisory board to sit within a school’s committee structure helps fully integrate the advice they can give into the running of the school. Furthermore, they can be highly effective with the more strategic aims and objectives of the school which otherwise could get swamped by day-to-day concerns.

Considering all these factors shows the particular usefulness of devices such as advisory boards in ensuring the good governance of proprietorial schools, which otherwise would not have the benefits of a semi-independent body in this way. Even in cases where schools do not feel such a board would be appropriate for them, the considerations that lead to many establishing advisory boards can provide a guide for other ways in which improved governance may be achieved.

Bill Brown and Jake Anders are, respectively, chairman and lead researcher at The Education Partnership (www.theeducationpartnership.org.uk). Matthew Adshead is the proprietor and head of The Old Vicarage School.

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